The fund will invest in a portfolio of more than 30 stocks, and the investment strategy will be based on fundamental research analyzing long term structural trends and identifying companies that benefit from them.
The latest launch follows on from the firm’s Asia ex-Japan UCITS fund, launched in September 2015. Nikko AM plans to launch further UCITs funds this year, said the firm.
“Our Japan Focus fund has been launched in response to investor demand for specialist expertise in actively managed investments in Japan,” said Watanabe, senior fund manager of the Nikko AM Japan Focus Fund.
“We have strong relationships locally which provide our team with unique insights into the underlying companies, and the ability to tap into opportunities that may have otherwise been overlooked,” he added.
The new UCITs fund is based on an existing strategy domiciled in Japan, which has been managed by Watanabe since August 2012. Compared with an annualised 21.24% increase in the TOPIX Total Return Index, that fund has returned 26.15% per year since September 2012 as of end of March 2016, according to Nikko.
